DEMONSTRATION
DigiDiss ©: Virtual
Dissections for Universities, Colleges and High Schools
Martin Rydmark, Dunja Hovik
Mednet, The
ABSTRACT:
Dissections are an
important part of zoological training, but there are numerous problems of using
real animals in the education. It is expensive, it takes manpower for
instruction, there are limited possibilities for repetition and many students
have ethical objections to use real animals. High Schools are also often not
allowed to perform real dissections. Many teachers are inexperienced in guiding
students through a dissection.
To date there have
been few alternatives to dissection. Textbooks, models and videos give limited
and inadequate information. As an alternative, we have developed interactive
computer programs simulating real dissections:
DigiDiss©. The programs are useful for both K-12,
College and university courses.
The program is
modular. There are currently modules for the rat, the spiny dogfish and for the
crayfish. Additional modules are under development. The program contains
segments explaining phylogeny, taxonomy and the use of dissection tools.
Animations and 3-D models illustrate the function of various organ systems.
Video clips illustrate crucial steps of the dissections.
The program has been
developed in close connection to actual teaching. Feedback from both teachers
and students has been taken into consideration. This has resulted in a functional
yet self-instructive interface. Classes using traditional techniques have also
been compared with classes using only DigiDiss©, and the result is that the
DigiDiss© classes do as well, and often better than traditional classes. It has
also been shown that classes that do regular dissections following a
demonstration through DigiDiss© obtain better results than classes doing
dissections without prior demonstration. Furthermore, students that are allowed
to use DigiDiss© for repetition after regular dissections have a better
knowledge of the animals than students without repetition.
The demo demonstrates
an alternative to regular dissections that makes a good part of the knowledge
gained by performing regular dissection available to a larger audience. It also
makes it possible to prepare for dissection and for repetition in ways that are
not available in traditional teaching. It shows how a framework developed
closely with the target group can be used to simulate dissection of different
animals.
BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
To date there have
been few alternatives to dissection. Textbooks, models and videos give limited
and inadequate information. As an alternative, we have developed interactive
computer programs simulating real dissections:
DigiDiss©. The programs are useful for both K-12, College and university
courses.
Martin Rydmark
Mednet, The
Sahlgrenska
Academy at Göteborg
University,
Box 417, 405 30
Göteborg, Sweden
Phone: +46 31 7733762
mailto:martin.rydmark@mednet.gu.se
CO-AUTHORS:
Christoffer
Schander1, Dunja Hˆvik1, Gunnar Berg1, Sven Nilsson1, Anders Larsson1 and
Martin Rydmark2
1University of
Gothenburg, Department of Zoology, Box 463, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
2 Mednet, The Sahlgrenska
Academy at Göteborg University, Box 417, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Email:
c.schander@zool.gu.se,
dunja.hovik@digital-wharf.com,
gunnar.berg@digital-wharf.com,
sven.nilsson@digital-wharf.com,
anders.larsson@zool.gu.se,